Mutants

When a deadly virus spreads out through France in the summertime, the great part of the population is mow down. The last hope of the survivors is the military station called Noah, a hidden sanctuary where scientists are researching the cure. Dr. Sonia (Hélène de Fougerolles), her beloved boyfriend Marco (Francis Renaud) and the military Perez (Marie-Sohna Conde) seek Noah driving an ambulance in a lonely road through the woods, but they run out of gas. There is an incident with a zombie with a shootout and Perez dies and Marco is hit in the stomach and contaminated by the zombie's blood. Sonia heads to an apartment complex and she lodges with Marco in the desert place; while healing his wound, Sonia tries to contact Noah. But sooner Sonia finds out that the location is indeed inhabited and she is in danger.

"Mutants" has the same premise of most of zombie movies, i.e., an outbreak of a virus that transforms most of the population into zombies. However, the difference in this gore movie is the dramatic plot with the love and fear of Sonia for Marco, and the claustrophobic situation that the lead actress is involved. Further, the high-level of the performances of Hélène de Fougerolles and Francis Renaud also make the difference, unusual in the horror genre. The awesome landscape with snow and the make-up are also stunning. The conclusion is a cliché for a possible sequel. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Mutações" ("Mutations")

Sonia (a nurse/doctor) and her husband Marco have survived a mutation outbreak and are now on the run. Finding a place to take refuge, Marco gets infected with some contaminated blood, and is desperate to find a cue. As the infection takes days to mutate, Sonia is in a desperate race against time to help the love of her life, and ultimately face up to the possibility that she may lose him.

We have all had our fair share of standard Zombie/Infected films. Everybody seems to want to be the next George A. Romero, and unfortunately its a case of "seen one, seen them all". Then comes along David Morlet's "Mutants". A film about an apocalyptic outbreak, with plenty of flesh eating mutants, but this film serves so much more of a purpose than others that have come before it. To me, the story of the apocalypse was a side story, as the real focus was on the controversial use of "Euthanasia" ... such a debate has been raging over this topic, and the subtle way that David Morlet uses this topic, was superb. Is it OK to end the life of someone who has no more quality in theirs? Is it OK to put someone to sleep, forever? The question is constantly asked throughout the duration of the film, and shows the impact and heartbreak that even the thought can produce. The fact that this infection takes days to mutate and not instant, gives the viewer a false sense of a positive outcome. It shows that sometimes hope can be cruel, and we go along with the two characters, as things just go from bad to worse. Combining this strong psychological element with superb, isolated, cinematography, a strong soundtrack, above average acting, with gore and blood to add, this movie stands out as a very unique addition, to a very tired sub genre. Highly impressive!

In its very first minute, Mutants reminds us that in order to survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse, it is best not to get too attached to anyone or anything.

And of course, the problem is that it is very easy to say that, but much harder to put theory into practice. The difficulty with zombies, besides the fact that they are the tireless, ravenous living dead is that they are monsters with the faces of our loved ones. Random zombies are a problem, but one that can be solved with ruthless application of violence. From Romero's Night of the Living Dead to Robert Kirkland's Walking Dead the most difficult zombies haven't been the faceless hordes, but the zombies that we knew when they were human, our sons, daughters, parents and lovers.

The zombies being offered in Mutants are viral mutants similar to the ones in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, but where Boyle's film gave us a transformation that was almost simultaneous with infection, Mutants offers a much crueler plight. It imagines a delay between infection to full viral mutation of about four days. The cruelty of a long and painful transformation (in this case strongly reminiscent of Cronenberg's The Fly) is that it offers the illusion that a cure is possible. In this case, the main character, Sonia, is a medical professional. (It is unclear if she is a doctor or a nurse.) Sonia's identity is vested in her belief that any disease can be cured, that her infected lover Marco can be saved and she has secrets that help convince her that a cure is possible, even likely.

This is heresy for zombie affliction afficionados, where the only true cure for infection is immediate amputation, but by flirting with heresy, Mutants asks some compelling questions. In the process, it offers an eloquent elegy to the moral quandary of euthanasia.

At what point is medical treatment crueler than death? At what point has your loved one become so consumed by disease that all that they were and all that they could be have been replaced by the disease? Where does humanity end and death begin? Bad enough to be faced with those impossible questions, but Morlet ups the ante on Sonia by reminding us that the inevitable zombie apocalypse is not just about the zombies, it is also about the apocalypse - the end of everything. The end of easy transportation, the end of gas, the end of warmth, the end of light, the end of communication, the end of parts, the end of bullets, the end of civility, the end of love and the end of trust.

The film is not perfect. It uses a but too much of the shock-cam technique currently in vogue. There are also a couple of steps in the mutation that make little sense. Mutant zombies losing their hair makes sense, but losing their teeth? Really? The reason that the zombie apocalypse is inevitable has everything to do with our voracious and insatiable appetite that will eventually overcome and overwhelm our ability to feed it. The zombie apocalypse is the contrast between the death of our ability to feed the hunger and the dark monstrous face of that hunger lying just behind the mask of civility.

David Morel reminds us in Mutants not just of that inevitability, but also that when the end comes it will be both painful and beautiful, and that the barrier between life and death, love and hate, civilization and chaos is not a barrier that is crossed in an instant. It is one that is crossed so slowly and the hair, the blood, the fluids and all the mess of life and living shed in the crossing are so distracting that by the time you know that you have passed the tipping point, it is too late to turn back.

A french horror movie that plays more like a psychological horror than a full on horror movie. The director made a short, that is setting up the mood for this film. He even uses one actor from the short and if I'm not completely mistaken, you could say, that it continues exactly where the short movie stopped/ended.

As a psychological film it really works. It doesn't have that much scares though and it might not be bloody enough for some people. While it's not pitch perfect, it's a nice watch. So if you want a horror movie with a little brain (no pun intended), then you can certainly give this a try.

A virus has transformed the majority of humans into zombie-like creatures. An unlikely group tries to fight for survival in a military base.

Despite the recent influx of zombie and virus films from various countries, including France with the entertaining 'Le Horde,' here's another French take. 'Mutants,' refreshingly, stands in contrast to its counterparts as it takes a serious tone with the subject matter, expertly filmed by director David Morlet.

The film boasts impressive sets, cinematography, and art direction. It features cold, eerie lighting, desolate bunkers, and well-executed gore effects, all against the backdrop of a snowy wintertime setting.

Many scenes are filled with tension, enhanced by a pervasive sense of claustrophobia for added horror. While the sound design for the infected may be considered excessive, the acting is top-notch, with Helene de Frougerolles (bearing a resemblance to Asia Argento) carrying the film. In Louis-Paul Desanges and David Morlet's screenplay, everything is portrayed realistically, lending a gritty edge to the narrative.

There is, unfortunately, an excessive use of shaky camera work, a characteristic often associated with zombie and virus films. Calls for help on the radio, fortified bunkers, machetes, guns, human betrayal, love, and loss-all the clichés are present but handled with realism. Combined with the naturalistic acting and a chillingly crafted score, 'Mutants' manages to stand out in the oversaturated genre.

Aside from the '28 Days Later' rage-like infected, the film features a well-balanced, simmering survival element infused with emotion, creating a captivating atmosphere and continuous action. Although devoid of humor, it remains bloody and dramatically entertaining.